Bryant proving true to his word

Defensive end Red Bryant told anyone who would listen during training camp that he intended to have a much better season in 2013 than he did in 2012, when he was bothered by a foot injury and, by his own admission, at times simply didn’t play well.

Through two games, Bryant (above in a Dean Rutz photo) has been true to his word.

Bryant and tackle Brandon Mebane are entrusted with being the primary early-down run stuffers for the Seahawks.

And they have rarely done their job better than Sunday night, when the Seahawks allowed San Francisco tailbacks just 13 yards on 11 carries, including holding Frank Gore to 16 on nine.

Pro Football Focus today detailed just how well Bryant is playing, writing:

Last year Red Bryant had one of the worst Run Stop Percentages in the league for 4-3 defensive ends at 4.4%. This year he is leading the league at 14.8%.

Coach Pete Carroll on Monday also gushed over the play of Bryant so far, saying he is playing “very well” and that:

“Red has come out of the chutes playing great technique, he’s hard to move, he’s been very consistent. He’s doing the things that we’re counting on him to do. We’re really happy with the progress we made through camp. If Red lines up and just gets in your face, he’s really hard to do anything about. So he’s doing a great job so far getting started and we’ve had terrific results with him.”